Edi Rama will convene the Socialist Party parliamentary group this Monday at 09:00, in a meeting where he is expected to present a package of changes to the Criminal Procedure Code.
Sources from the pink headquarters indicate that the initiative aims to limit the courts' competence to suspend senior constitutional officials from office.
The draft bears the signatures of Prime Minister Rama, the leader of the Socialist parliamentary group Taulant Balla, and the chairman of the Laws Committee Ulsi Manja. After discussion in the group, the amendments are expected to be officially submitted to the Assembly.
The intervention affects Article 242 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which currently provides that the measure of suspension from office does not apply to persons elected under the electoral law.
With the new wording, the exemption will be expanded to include the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the Council of Ministers, the Ombudsman, the Head of the Supreme State Audit Office and the Governor of the Bank of Albania.
What does Article 242 currently provide?
"With the decision ordering the suspension of the exercise of a public duty or service, the court temporarily prohibits the defendant, in whole or in part, from the activity related to them. This measure does not apply to persons elected under the electoral law."
What changes with the new proposal?
The wording remains essentially the same, but the exemption is expanded by specifying that the measure does not apply to persons elected under the electoral law, including the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the Government Cabinet, the Ombudsman, the Head of the Supreme Audit Office and the Governor of the Bank of Albania. /euronews/
